Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on November 23, 2006
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2007 32(5):552-560; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsl043
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Reliability and Validity of the Asthma Trigger Inventory Applied to a Pediatric Population
Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Beatrice L. Wood, PhD, ABPP, Woman and Children's Hospital of Buffalo, 219 Bryant Street, Buffalo, NY 14222. E-mail: bwood{at}buffalo.edu.
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Objective To test the reliability and validity of the Asthma Trigger Inventory (ATI) applied to a pediatric population. Method Children with asthma (N = 272, 56% male, age 717) and their primary caregivers answered together an asthma trigger inventory, ATI (Ritz, Steptoe, Bobb, Harris, & Edwards, 2006) developed for adults. Cronbach's
, principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical regression, and correlations of the ATI subscales with skin prick tests, psychological questionnaires, and disease severity were used to assess the psychometric properties of the ATI. Results The ATI subscales demonstrated excellent reliability regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status (SES), or age. PCA confirmed and replicated the theoretical structure of the ATI. Hierarchical multiple regressions illuminated the association of ATI subscales with demographics and asthma history. Evidence in support of construct validity was found in associations between ratings of triggering and disease severity and asthma-related quality of life (PAQLQ). Criterion validity for allergy triggering was partially supported by correlations between ATI animal allergens subscale and the cat dander skin prick test, and construct validity for emotional triggering by associations between the emotional trigger subscale score and the anxiety (STAIC) and depression (CDI, CDI-P, CDRS-R, and CBCL-I) scores. Conclusion The ATI holds promise as a reliable, valid, and useful clinical and research tool to assess the type and degree of asthma triggering in a pediatric population (age 717) of varied gender, race, and SES.
Key words: emotions; pediatric asthma; stress; trigger.
Received March 22, 2006; revision received July 27, 2006; revision received October 3, 2006; accepted October 20, 2006